While Andrew Mountbatten Windsor being stripped of his titles last month might seem unprecedented, it’s far from the first time a Royal has stepped down from their position of responsibility.
The former prince recently found himself stripped of his dukedom and HRH title and forced out of his home at the Royal Lodge by King Charles.
He also loses his honours of Order of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and his honorary military rank of vice-admiral.
Andrew is among a number of Royals who have been forced to hand their titles back, but there have been several who have given up their titles voluntarily.
From high-profile scandals and divorces to choosing love over royalty, here we take a look at the individuals who have either given up their Royal titles, abdicated the throne or stepped away from their duties…
Prince Andrew
In October 2025, Buckingham Palace confirmed that it had begun the process of removing Andrew’s titles, meaning he would no longer be referred to as ‘Prince Andrew’ and instead be formally known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
Andrew had made an announcement earlier in the month stating he would relinquish his titles due to new allegations surrounding his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
His brother, King Charles III, then confirmed he would be removing all of Andrew’s titles and honours, in addition to evicting him from Royal Lodge.
“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew,” the statement said.
“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease, and he will move to alternative private accommodation.”
Andrew stepped down from Royal duties in 2019 and he was later stripped of his military titles and patronages.
Princess Mako
In 2021, Princess Mako, niece of Japan’s Emperior Naruhito, married Kei Komuro, who is not of royal descent, in a ceremony at a registry office, and as a result, she gave up her royal title.
The couple publicly shared their plans to marry in 2017, but they received a lot of negative reaction in the media.
After tying the knot, Mako and Kei held a press conference, where Mako stated she would be ‘starting a new life’ with her husband.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
Back in 2020, Meghan and Harry made headlines across the globe as they announced they were both stepping back as senior members of the Royal Family.
Shortly after, the couple moved to Canada for a brief stint, before making a home in California, where they now live with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Harry is fifth in line for the throne, behind his older brother Prince William and his three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Meghan and Harry kept their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex despite quitting their roles in the Firm.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor
In 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in order to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcée, meaning his brother King George VI then became king.
Edward shared the announcement on the radio after his abdication papers were signed, saying: “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.”
He was given the title Duke of Windsor by his brother after stepping down and was also allowed to keep his title of His Royal Highness.
Edward married Wallis in France in 1937, with no members of the Royal Family in attendance, and she was given the title of Duchess of Windsor but not Her Royal Highness.
Princess Märtha Louise
Another Royal who gave up her title is Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, who stopped using her title for ‘business activities’ in 2019 but kept it while undertaking official royal duties.
Her decision was prompted by the Norwegian Royals’ objection to her using the title of ‘Princess and the Shaman’ for a speaking tour alongside her then-fiancé, Shaman Durek, also known as Durek Verrett.
Two years later, Märtha, who is the oldest child of His Majesty King Harald and Her Majesty Queen Sonja, made the decision to relinquish all her royal patronages and step down from serving as a working royal.
The Royal House of Norway’s website now states: “The Princess is relinquishing the role as royal patron that has set the framework of her official duties for the Royal House, and will not be representing the Royal House at the present time. The organisations previously under her patronage will be offered the patronage of other members of the Royal Family.
“In accordance with The King’s wishes, the Princess will keep her title. The Princess will continue to serve as chair of the board of Princess Märtha Louise’s Fund.”
In 2024, Märtha married Durek and he was not given a title.
Prince Philip
Born in Greece, Prince Philip was a prince of both Greece and Denmark prior to marrying into the British Royal Family.
He married the future Queen of England, Princess Elizabeth, in November 1947, meaning he had to renounce both his Greek and Danish titles and be baptised into the Church of England, having previously been baptised in the Greek Orthodox Church.
Philip became Duke of Edinburgh upon marrying Elizabeth and adopted the surname of Mountbatten, which belonged to his maternal grandparents.
When his wife became Queen Elizabeth II, Philip did not become King as royal rules state that the husband of a queen is called ‘Prince Consort’ as opposed to ‘King Consort’.
Beatrix of the Netherlands
Princess Beatrix abdicated the throne in 2013, opting to end her reign, which began in 1980, and hand over to her son, King Wilhem-Alexander.
Beatrix initially took to the throne after her mother, Juliana of the Netherlands, decided to hand over the reins, while Juliana’s mother, Wilhelmina, also made the decision to step down, ending her reign in 1948 after taking to the throne in 1890.
A family tradition!
Emperor Akihito of Japan
In January 1989, Emperor Hirohito died and his eldest son, Emperor Akihito, began his reign.
He remained on the throne until 2019, when he decided to abdicate and hand over to his eldest son, Emperor Naruhito, despite abdication not being common in a monarchy like Japan’s.
Akihito’s decision to step down was due to his health, having undergone prostate cancer surgery in 2003 as well as a heart operation in 2012.
Diana, Princess of Wales
She had numerous titles throughout the course of her life, but she was arguably best known as Diana, Princess of Wales or Princess Diana.
Born with the title The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer, she became Lady Diana Spencer when her father inherited the Earldom of Spencer in 1975 before going on to be known as Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales during her marriage to then-Prince Charles.
When Diana and Charles divorced in 1996, she had the official title of Her Royal Highness taken away, with her new title being Diana, Princess of Wales.
Following her death, discussions were held with the Royals and the Spencer family as to whether Diana’s Her Royal Highness needed to be restored, but her family decided it would go against the late mother-of-two’s wishes.
Princess Ayako
Princess Mako gave up her title due to marriage in 2021, but her second cousin, Princess Ayako, actually handed back her title first, having opted to marry a commoner in 2018 and take his last name.
Princess Ayako, youngest daughter of Prince Hisako, wed Kei Moriya, a shipping executive, and is now known as Ayako Moriya.
Margrethe II of Denmark
Another Royal who made the decision to abdicate the throne is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
After spending over half a century on the throne, she opted to let her son, King Frederik X, take over at the beginning on 2024, saying the time ‘takes its toll’ in an announcement shared on 31 December 2023.
“In two weeks’ time, I have been Queen of Denmark for 52 years. Such an amount will leave its mark on anybody — also on me! One cannot undertake as much as one managed in the past,” Margrethe said in her speech.
Prince Michael of Kent
Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, was required to give up his place in the line of succession when he decided he wanted to marry Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz, who is a Roman Catholic.
Upon marrying, Marie-Christine became Princess Michael of Kent and the couple were both awarded use of the style of His and Her Royal Highness.
Prince Michael having to forfeit his place in line to the throne was as a result of the Act of Settlement 1701, but thanks to the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, he was given his spot back in the line in 2015.
However, he’s now 53rd in line to the throne, so we doubt he’s too bothered.
Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall
Princess Anne’s two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, were not guaranteed official titles but their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, offered them both courtesy titles when they were born.
Despite the kind offer, the Princess Royal and her husband, Mark Phillips, declined in a bid to allow Zara and Peter to lead as normal lives as possible even though they are members of the Royal Family.
Mum-of-three Zara, who is married to ex-rugby ace Mike Tindall, has previously said she feels ‘lucky’ to have not been given a title, and her kids do not have titles.
Speaking on the Seven: Rob Burrow podcast, she said: “From my point of view, I was obviously very lucky that my mother didn’t give us any titles so I really commend her on that. We were very lucky that we got to do it a bit our own way.”
The Swedish Royal grandchildren
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden have nine grandchildren, but only two are expected to undertake royal duties when they grow up.
In 2019, the King of Sweden made the decision to remove the titles of his grandchildren, meaning they were no longer members of the Swedish Royal House but would retain their titles of prince and princess, yet any future children or spouses will not have a right to the titles.
King Carl shared the reasons behind his decision in his Christmas 2019 speech, saying: “It will hopefully be helpful when my grandchildren eventually carve out their own future. But, to that day, it is far away.”
Two more grandchildren have been born since his announcement.
The only two of his grandchildren expected to be part of the Swedish Royal House are Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, children of Crown Princess Victoria, who is heir to Sweden’s throne.
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Another Royal who abdicated the throne is King Juan Carlos I, who began his reign as King of Spain in 1975 before handing over to his son, King Felipe VI, in 2014.
Juan Carlos went on to retire from royal duties in 2019, when he was 81 years old.
He actually spent two years in ‘exile’ in UAE from 2020 after being linked to corruption allegations, but the claims were later dropped.
